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The Convert
In the midst of a fight, Joxer self-defensively kills the warlord Kryton. Meanwhile, Najara crosses paths with Gabrielle and Xena again, only this time she swears that she has changed and is following the Way of Love. Summary Murderous thugs are sacking a temple and trying to kidnap the young followers, when Xena, Gabrielle and Joxer arrive to fight them. Xena engages the leader, Kryton, while Joxer shields the woman he was viciously beating. Gabrielle is shocked to realize that the woman is Najara, a religious zealot they had believed to be imprisoned. Joxer, while trying to shield Gabrielle and Najara, inadvertently kills Kryton. Xena is dismayed to see Najara, and Joxer is shocked that he has actually taken a life. Xena dutifully dresses Najara's wounds, but is determined to take her back to the prison from which she escaped. Najara claims that while in jail she met Eli. She is now devoted to nonviolence and peace. Xena does not believe her, but Gabrielle is sympathetic. As with their previous encounter, Najara tells Gabrielle to leave Xena's violent world and join her to found a hospice. Meanwhile, Joxer is crushed by what he has done and is uncomfortable at being hailed as a hero by the locals for killing Kryton. Learning that Kryton had a son, Arman, Joxer feels he has to tell him what happened. Arriving at the boy's boarding school, Joxer relents when he realizes that Arman believed his father to be a brave, righteous man. Learning of his father's death, Arman swears vengeance on the killer, and Xena lets him ride with them. Joxer and Arman uneasily bond, but all that comes to an end when Najara tells Arman of his father's evil deeds and Joxer's involvement in his demise. Arman wants to kill Joxer, but Xena intervenes and asks him to spare Joxer's life. The boy reluctantly agrees, but leaves camp, as Xena reminds him that the man Joxer killed was not the man Arman thinks of as his father. Gabrielle continues to defend Najara's conversion, when a breathless Arman returns to warn them that Kryton's men are coming to kill Joxer. Joxer is relieved that his guilt will finally end, until Arman tells him that he knows that the man Joxer killed was a man he never knew. Joxer's guilt is eased a little, and Xena leads the fight against the thugs. When Xena is injured, Najara will not let Gabrielle go to her aid. Angry that Gabrielle is still loyal to Xena, the voices in Najara's head tell her to destroy the warrior princess. After an epic battle, Xena manages to wound Najara. With the bond between them stronger than ever, Xena and Gabrielle leave the comatose Najara in an asylum, uncertain whether her voices will one day call her back to consciousness. = Disclaimer Argo's gastronomical condition was cleared up upon the completion of this motion picture. Background Information *This episode is an unofficial follow-up to the earlier Season Four episode Crusader. *Kathryn Morris said that one of the toughest parts of playing Najara was all of the physical requirements. She thought it was almost unbelievable that she could be seen as strong enough to fight Lucy and win, so she tried to appear to go into a berserker state to give her fighting credibility. She also said the vine fight from this episode was extremely tough, because she kept missing the vines she was supposed to be swinging on, and had to make many extra attempts to finally get the scene filmed. *Najara's character seems to have drastically changed since her last appearance. Though misguided, she seemed genuinely bent on doing good and spreading love. This time, she is far more malicious and unstable, even violently pulling Gabrielle by the hair (she declared that she would never hurt Gabrielle in Crusader). Perhaps a result of being defeated by Xena and losing Gabrielle. *This is also one of the few times we've seen Joxer punch someone, along with season two's "Comedy of Eros". *At the time of the airing of this episode, Mfundo Morrison (Arman) was playing Theseus on Young Hercules. The exterior shots of his school were also ones used on Young Hercules. *This is the only time we see Joxer kill in the whole series. *On her path of non-violence, Gabrielle now wields a smoke compact that she uses to harmlessly distract enemies. But this is the only episode that features her using it. They had intended creating a whole new "arsenal of peace" for Gabrielle to use during fights, but when Lucy became pregnant, they realized they'd have to have Gabrielle start fighting again because Lucy would be unable to carry the load all by herself. *Scenes from this episode were aired on ET on February 18, 1999. They presented as a report on the set. A clacker from the filming was seen on screen and the date on it was "16-02-99" which is the non-US way of writing the date *Najara gives a twitch in her final screen shot, leaving the door open for her return. Sadly, she never made another appearance in the series. Links and References Guest Stars References People Gods Places Other Category:XWP episodes Category:XWP Season Four